Thoughts on J.D. Salinger

As we learn today that J.D. Salinger passed away, I offer my thoughts.

My ninth grade English teacher, Trudy Ellis, recommended I read Catcher in the Rye.  She said I’d really like it.  I read it, I liked it, but it wasn’t the definitive literary experience of my high school career.  That title goes to Kazantzakis and Zorba the Greek.

Holden’s angst was not really my angst; his alienation was not really mine.  I suppose his feelings, like mine, were genuine, but at fifteen, it was hard for me to get past his surface cynicism.  I think I was more bewildered by the world than cynical.

But I did enjoy the language; I was entertained; I thought it was funny, but at the end of the day I was left wondering what all the fuss was about.

But the short stories…that’s where the magic was.  If you haven’t read Nine Stories, you should.  My personal favorites are “For Esme with Love and Squalor” and “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.”

These stories are very modern, and it’s easy to forget that they were written in the 50s.  At a time when the O’Henry type of short story was the standard, the Salinger stories really stand out.  The dialogue is uncanny.  And the way these stories are structured is very very subtle and something to be admired.  They aren’t really plot driven stories.  The movement is really driven more by things that are harder to put your finger on, like emotion or mood.

That’s a really hard thing to do.  We kinda take it for granted now that that’s the way short stories work, but I don’t know…maybe Salinger showed us all how to do it.

I’m bummed that he didn’t publish more, but I’m glad he published what he did.  My life has been enriched by his work.

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